Apostille and legalisation are procedures for authenticating public documents for use abroad. The applicable procedure, or an exemption, depends on factors including destination and document type.
What is authenticated?
An apostille authenticates the signature, the capacity of the signatory and, where applicable, the seal or stamp. It does not assess the company’s financial position or guarantee the substantive accuracy of every statement.
Which procedure applies?
Within the scope of the Hague Apostille Convention, an apostille replaces legalisation. Legalisation of German documents is performed by the representation of the destination state. Prior authentication and sometimes final authentication may be required. Competence for apostilles on German state documents is governed at state level; the BfAA is not generally the apostille authority for commercial register extracts.
Before ordering
Ask the recipient to specify document type, acceptable age, format, destination and any translation requirements. A plain PDF, an officially certified document and an apostilled document are different formats. An apostille does not ensure acceptance by every recipient.